Conventionally, there have been known personal measuring devices that enable patients to measure various data by themselves outside medical facilities (for example, an electrocardiograph, a sphymomanometer, a blood sugar level meter or a urinalysis device). Also known are systems in which data self-measured by patients are stored in a recording medium contained in a personal measuring device and the stored data are read out from the recording medium and analyzed by a personal computer located in a medical facility or the like. With such systems, doctors and the like can carry out medical treatment and give living guidance based on the data self-measured by the patients using the personal measuring device.
In such conventional systems, when analyzing data stored in the personal measuring device, it is necessary to carry out a series of troublesome personal-computer operations including starting-up a personal computer and activating a software for processing the data in advance, and then connecting the personal measuring device of the patient to this personal computer, followed by (1) setting the personal computer in a receive mode for reading out the stored data from the personal measuring device to the personal computer, (2) making the personal measuring device transmit the data to the personal computer, (3) checking if the data is received properly on the personal computer side, (4) processing the data and displaying the result thereof, (5) printing the result and (6) terminating the data processing program.
Further, there also are cases in which a patient need not consult a doctor and just wants to print out the result of data analysis for the purpose of self-management. In such cases, it is favorable if the patient can read out data and print out the result of analysis by him/herself without seeking any assistance of staff members at a medical facility. However, this is practically impossible because, understandably, not every patient who has a personal measuring device is familiar with the operation of a personal computer.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems described above and to provide a measurement data processing system that fetches measurement data stored in a personal measuring device to a data processing device and starts processing the data automatically, simply by connecting the personal measuring device to the data processing device such as a personal computer and turning on power or by connecting the personal measuring device whose power has been turned on to the data processing device.